I mentioned the use of English, complicating billiards. (Brits call this 'side'.) Side English complicates the game a lot, and makes many shots possible which would not be possible otherwise. The main effect of side English is the angle that the cue ball (and to a lesser extent, other balls) bounces off the rail. The second most important effect of side English is squirt; the cue ball does not go straight in the direction that the cue is pointing, it squirts off to the side a little. Left English makes the ball squirt to the right. The greater the side English, the greater the squirt. And squirt causes you to miss shots, and is the main reason that the pros tell you not to use side English unless you have a good reason. The third most important effect of side English is Throw, which is the effect that cue ball spin has on object balls. There is also accidental side English, caused by a bad stroke. And other balls gain side English, mainly by banking off rails (but also because of throw). The point being, this isn't just deterministic pool ball physics: it's very much about having a 'feel' for the game.

Man is a masterpiece of creation if for no other reason than, all the weight of evidence for determinism notwithstanding, he believes he has free will._____________________________________Georg C. Lichtenberg 1778

I call foul. Maverick, you bring a ringer to a honest game?

No matter; Father Steve, I think that the posters here are Determinists but don't know it. And they resent the inclusion of "their" words into the sausage mix that is Culture. Humph! Well, below are five statements. Agreeing with them makes you a Determinist and as a Determinist you will understand Culture. Go...

1) Our brains are hard wired to operate in a cause and effect Universe.

2)Cause and effect requires Time to be progressive in order to function.

Some wise man once opined that we don't have free will but we do have free won't.

I am reading David Eagleman's Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain, in which he explains that the conscious mind is just along for the ride. The first chapter, BTW, is titled There's Someone In My Head, But It's Not Me.

Yeah,Faldage, please do give a report. In the eighties I read a book entitled Your Little Man Inside (or something like that) and I have monitored his work ever since. Our relationship is ongoing but strange.

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